What did Virginia Mason Medical Center CEO, Dr. Gary Kaplan, do when his facility started to lose money in 1998? He visited hospitals around the U.S... He talked with many of the smartest minds in the industry. And after two years... he decided there wasn't one institution in the entire medical system whose footsteps he felt were worth following. So, he turned to Japanese automaker, Toyota, for inspiration, instead.

Yes, three years after…

Toyota is partnering with Microsoft to create an in-car electronics system designed to aid the efficiency of their battery-powered vehicles. Both companies will invest one-billion yen (~$12 million) in a Toyota subsidiary that will provide data services for drivers.

Toyota and Microsoft indicate the forthcoming system will incorporate a suite of telematics services, including data, navigation, in-car entertainment and multimedia. Powered by Window's Azure cloud computing platform, it may also be employed to manage…